The Babbage Difference Engine is demonstrated at 1:00 pm each day. I mention that because I dropped in at about 3:30 a few Fridays ago and missed it. On the up side, coming that late qualified us for half price tickets.
Just to clarify, this is a copy of the engine that Babbage designed between 1847 and 1849. It was never built in his lifetime. The first engine was constructed by the Science Museum, London. The project took seventeen years and was completed in 1991.
Babbage’s drawings also included an attached printer, which was constructed 2000 - 2002 by SML. The second copy of the engine, the one that’s now in Mountain View, was made at the same time as a requirement attached to the funding for the printer’s construction. I guess if you donate a few million to a museum, you can request these little perks.
The second Babbage Engine was originally on loan temporarily to the Computer History Museum from the donor, Nathan Myhrvold, former CTO of Microsoft. That was in 2008. The loan has been extended.
The place I want to see is the new Exploratorium in San Francisco.
I used to work with the guy that is now the Chief Building inspector (that’s as close as I can think his title is, but it’s not a Gov job) For Disney World. I think that would be fascinating.
It used to be free, but now they charge. I took a tour of the kitchen of a cruise ship a while ago - definitely interesting. Another one had a hallway which led to a window showing you the bridge - no tour though.
I was involved at an engineering conference held at the Disneyland Hotel, and our first year we had a presentation by one of the chief designers of the Disney water show. Very impressive. They had a class which involved a trip backstage but I couldn’t make that one.
In San Francisco there is a free Cable Car Museum, which lets you see where all the cables come together, and has a very nice display of the history of the cable car.
True enough, and great info, though I have to note that, as they noted at the museum, it’s technically not a “copy”—since the “original” was never actually built, this is the second production Babbage Difference Engine.
And I can also recommend the Strategic Air and Space Museum for a look at a wide variety of planes and combat aircraft (as well as astronomy-related exhibits).
I’d highly recommend a full or half transit, just to see the locks in operation from the inside. I’ve done a couple. It’s incredible to see what is basically nineteenth century technology still working so well.
Of course, while you’re in San Francisco, take time to enjoy the Golden Gate Bridge itself, as well as the other bridges in the area.
And speaking of things that go boom in the night and any other time of day, they’ve got a small missle park open to the public at the White Sands Test Range in New Mexico - including a sample of the casing used for Little Boy. And stop at the White Sands National Monument itself - nothing engineering about it, really, but pretty strange and awsome.
A few years ago I got to see the Arecibo radio telescope. It’s worth it if you find yourself in the Caribbean and don’t mind driving up into the mountains through ye olde rural Latin America where livestock hang out in the middle of the road.
This is the telescope that sent the famous SETI “Arecibo message” and also appeared in the movies Contact and GoldenEye.
I’m going to check out the flying heritage museum. Thanks.
Just adding that I think all factories are pretty interesting. I’ve been in tons in China including BMW, Bosch, Siemens, Foxconn, Ford, Mazda, Nissan, Toyota, Compal, Sony, etc.
There is some fascinating stuff in Japan from a wooden architectural perspective.
China’s got a lot of architecture such as the Potala Palace, monasteries, river towns, forbidden palace, the grand canal, etc.
We did a partial transit. You’re right, it made quite an impression to be inside a lock while it was operating. Especially in a small boat. The other two lasting impressions were 1) seeing the expansion project and 2) sitting on the tour boat on the Pacific side, waiting our turn, and watching the “express ticket” ships go by, one-by-one. The amount to coordination it takes to make that happen amazed me.
I’d been to London before on business but the first time I had any time to myself I hopped on the tube and made a beeline to Greenwich. A person could spend days there exploring all the exhibits and museums.
Another engineering/nautical attraction I discovered in London is the museum ship HMS Belfast. Unlike many museum ships I’ve toured, the Belfast is surprisingly “open” and one can explore all nine decks including the engine room and a rather spectacular machine shop. When I returned home, I immediately reread Alistair MacLean’s HMS Ulysses.
If I ever get back to the UK, and get to Scotland (which I haven’t visited yet), I want to see the Falkirk Wheel. It’s a very cool device for lifting boat between two canals.
Scotty’s Castle is a fascinating historic home with the best backstory ever. The underground tour includes both the original technologies used in the home which were very advanced for the time and the technologies in use today that help maintain the home.
